Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016

Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016
United States
2016 (Specific dates to be determined)

The Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016 will take place in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories, as well as among U.S. citizens living all over the world,[1] prior to the 2016 general election to determine the Democratic Party's nominee for the Presidency of the United States.[2] Incumbent president and 2012 nominee Barack Obama is ineligible for reelection, due to term limits under the Twenty-second Amendment.

Background

In the weeks following the re-election of incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama in the 2012 election, media speculation regarding potential candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2016 presidential election began to circulate. The speculation centered on the prospects of Hillary Clinton, then the outgoing Secretary of State, making a second presidential bid in the 2016 election. Clinton, who had previously served as a U.S. Senator (2001–09) and was the First Lady of the U.S. (1993–2001), was receiving consistently high approval ratings in major nationwide polls.[3][4] A January 2013 Washington Post-ABC News poll indicated that she had reached a new height of political popularity among the American public, surpassing that which she had attained during her 2008 presidential campaign in which she finished as the runner-up to Obama by a close margin.[5][6] This polling data prompted numerous political pundits and observers to anticipate that Clinton would mount a second presidential bid in 2016, entering the race as the clear early front-runner for the Democratic nomination.[7]

Given the historical tendency for sitting Vice Presidents to seek the presidency in election cycles in which the incumbent President is not a candidate, there was also considerable speculation regarding a potential presidential run by incumbent Vice President Joe Biden,[8][9] who had previously campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination in the election cycles of 1988 and 2008.[10] This speculation was further fueled by Biden's own expressions of interest in a possible run in 2016.[10][11] Early polling indicated that while Biden would likely be at best a distant runner-up in a match-up against Clinton, he would be the probable frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in the event that Clinton chose not to run.[8][12]

Within the party's liberal left wing were calls for a more progressive candidate to challenge what was perceived by many within this segment as the party's "establishment".[13] U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren quickly became a highly touted figure within this movement as well as the object of an ongoing draft movement to run in the primaries,[14] despite her repeated denials of interest in doing so.[13][15] Independent U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders also received mentions as a potential anti-establishment candidate for the Democratic nomination, despite having never run or being elected as a Democrat.[16] In late 2013, Sanders began to express interest in a possible bid for the party's nomination.[16][17]

In November 2014 Jim Webb, a former U.S. Senator who had once served as the U.S. Secretary of the Navy during the Reagan administration, announced the formation an exploratory committee in preparation for a possible run for the Democratic presidential nomination.[18] This made Webb the first major potential candidate to take a formal action towards seeking the party's 2016 nomination.[18] Martin O'Malley, former Governor of Maryland as well as a former Mayor of Baltimore, made formal step towards a campaign for the party's nomination in January 2015 with the hiring and retaining of personnel who had served the previous year as political operatives in Iowa – the first presidential nominating state in the primary elections cycle – as staff for his political action committee (PAC). O'Malley had started the “O’ Say Can You See” PAC in 2012 which had, prior to 2015, functioned primarily as fundraising vehicles for various Democratic candidates around as well for two 2014 ballot measures in Maryland.[19] With the 2015 staffing moves, the PAC ostensibly became a vehicle for O'Malley – who had for several months openly contemplated a presidential bid – to lay the groundwork for a potential campaign for the party's presidential nomination.[20]

Candidates

Individuals included in this section have taken one or more of the following actions: formally announced their candidacy; filed as a candidate with Federal Election Commission (FEC) (for other than exploratory purposes). They are listed alphabetically by surname.

Candidates featured in major polls

The following candidates have been listed in five or more major independent nationwide polls.

Other candidates

Potential candidates

Formally exploring a candidacy

The following potential candidates have taken formal action(s) – such as the formation of an exploratory committee, political action committee (PAC), or a 527 organization – to build the groundwork for a possible presidential campaign.

Schedule of primaries and caucuses

As of early 2015, the tentative schedule for 2016 is as follows:[36]

January

February

March

April

May

June

States with no firm dates

Democrats Abroad;[40] Georgia; Kansas; Maine; Nevada; New Hampshire; North Carolina; South Carolina; Washington; Wyoming

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Primary and Delegates for Democrats Abroad". Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  2. ↑ Cillizza, Chris (February 13, 2013). "Hillary and the rest: The Fix’s ranking of the 2016 Democratic primary field". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  3. ↑ Cohen, Jon (December 5, 2012). "Run Hillary Run!: Majority want a Clinton 2016 candidacy". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  4. ↑ Steinhauser, Paul (December 10, 2012). "Clinton rides high poll numbers into private life (for now?)". CNN.com. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  5. ↑ Cohen, Jon; Blake, Aaron (January 23, 2013). "Hillary Clinton reaches new heights of political popularity". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  6. ↑ Marlantes, Liz (December 10, 2012). "Are Republicans really 'incapable' of beating Hillary Clinton in 2016?". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  7. ↑ Marlantes, Liz (December 5, 2012). "New polls fuel speculation about Hillary Clinton in 2016". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Rudin Ken (May 7, 2013). "Joe Biden Has History On His Side But Little Else If Hillary Clinton Runs". NPR.com. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  9. ↑ Hobratsch , Jonathan (March 17, 2014). "When Vice Presidents Run for President". The Huffington Post. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Gaudiano, Nicole (January 22, 2013). "Will Joe Biden run for president in 2016?". USA Today. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  11. ↑ Rucker, Philip (May 2, 2013). "Biden ponders a 2016 bid, but a promotion to the top job seems to be a long shot". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  12. ↑ Falcone, Michael (May 2, 2013). "Biden’s Poll Lead Evaporates If Clinton Runs in 2016". ABC News.com. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Bolton, Alexander (November 12, 2013). "Left wants challenger for Hillary Clinton". The Hill. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  14. ↑ Martin, Jonathan (September 29, 2013). "Populist Left Makes Warren Its Hot Ticket". The New York Times. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  15. ↑ December 4, 2013. "Elizabeth Warren: I'm Not Running For President". The Huffington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Gaudiano, ,Nicole (September 8, 2014). "Party choice is key issue as Sen. Sanders mulls 2016 run". USA Today. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  17. ↑ Weinger, Mackenzie (November 18, 2013). "Bernie Sanders on 2016: I’d run if I could win". Politico. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Lee, Kurtis (November 20, 2014). "Long shot Jim Webb launches exploratory committee for presidential bid". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  19. ↑ Wagner, John (July 26, 2012). "O’Malley launches federal PAC as national profile rises". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  20. ↑ Wagner, John (January 27, 2015). "O’Malley, with eye on 2016, retains two political operatives with Iowa experience". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  21. ↑ Chozick, Amy. "Hillary Clinton Announces 2016 Presidential Bid". The New York Times. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  22. ↑ Gram, Davis (April 28, 2015). "Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders to run for president". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  23. ↑ Walker, Hunter (December 26, 2012). "Conspiracy Theorist Jeff Boss Launches Mayoral Bid". Politicker Network. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
  24. ↑ Seitz-Wald, Alex (May 22, 2014). "Can a Zombie-Powered Presidential Candidate Go Legit?". National Journal. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  25. ↑ Palmes-Dennis, Susan (November 1, 2013) "Democratic presidential aspirant lays out game plan for US", Sun.Star. Retrieved November 22, 2013
  26. ↑ Gavin, Patrick (November 29, 2013) "2016 already here for fringe hopefuls", Politico. Retrieved November 30, 2013
  27. ↑ Burns, Michael (October 30, 2014) "Presidential candidate visits his old home in Greer", The Greenville News. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  28. ↑ Schreckinger, Ben (April 16, 2015) "Lincoln Chafee is officially running for president. ... Or is he?", Politico. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  29. ↑ Kamisar, Ben (April 19, 2015) "Chafee won't let Clinton forget Iraq", The Hill. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  30. ↑ Merica, Dan (April 24, 2015) "As Democrats' 2016 dark horse, Chafee separates himself by taking on Hillary", CNN. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  31. ↑ Plotkin, Mark (March 20, 2015) "Can O'Malley pull a Carter '76 in 2016?", The Hill. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  32. ↑ Miller, Jake (April 14, 2015) "Martin O'Malley's new fundraising vehicle: YouTube", CBS News. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  33. ↑ Foley, Elise (April 19, 2015) "Martin O'Malley Says Executive Experience Would Make Him A Better President Than Hillary Clinton", The Huffington Post. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  34. ↑ Berman, Russell (November 20, 2014). "President Jim Webb?". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  35. ↑ Haberman, Maggie (2014-11-20). "Jim Webb launches 2016 committee". Politico. Retrieved 2014-11-20.
  36. ↑ "2016 Primary Schedule". 2016 Election Central.
  37. ↑ Scheck, Tom (16 February 2015). "Minnesota’s 2016 caucuses move to March". Minnesota Public Radio. MPR News Capitol View. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  38. ↑ "2016 Election Dates". MNVotes. Office Of The Minnesota Secretary Of State. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  39. ↑ Deseret News, "Utah Dems can't afford online presidential primary election," April 27, 2015
  40. ↑ "Public Comment Period for Democrats Abroad Delegate Selection Plan". Retrieved 13 April 2015.